Barrett
by suzie2b
Summary: A sequel to my story "Tidal Wave", which was posted on October 24, 2015


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: tullyfan thought this sequel would be cool. I must agree.**

 **Barrett**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **The Rat Patrol had just finished a two week mission and were now taking a few days at a battalion while they waited for word from Captain Boggs.**

 **The morning after their arrival Hitch and Tully worked to sort out Bertha and Olive—both jeeps had sustained minor damage during that last assignment. With that done they took inventory of what they needed.**

 **The privates were coming out of the supply tent with what they needed to restock the jeeps when they saw an American patrol roll in with prisoners. Hitch and Tully watched as the two Germans were taken to Lt. Col. Stewart's tent.**

 **Hitch started to walk away, but noticed that Tully wasn't with him. He turned around and looked at the frown on friend's face as he continued to watch the prisoners with the guards. "What's wrong?"**

 **Tully looked at Hitch and replied, "Umm … nothing's wrong." He walked past his friend. "Let's go."**

 **Troy and Moffitt joined the privates at the jeeps. Troy asked, "Everything okay with the jeeps?"**

 **Hitch stowed the last of the supplies and said, "We're ready to go as soon as we hear from the captain."**

" **Good. Lt. Colonel Stewart told us we could take the next few days off while we wait … as long as nothing comes up."**

 **Tully hesitated, then said, "Did you see the prisoners that came in?"**

 **Moffitt nodded. "Yes. They were being escorted into the Lt. Col.'s tent as we left. They appeared a little worse for wear."**

 **Troy noted the look on the private's face and asked, "What's going on, Tully?"**

 **He shrugged and said, "Nothin', sarge … at least nothing I can put my finger on."**

" **Well, if you two are done here, let's go get some lunch."**

 **Moffitt said, "I'm sure you'll figure it out in time, Tully."**

 **##################**

 **Later that same day Tully was relaxing in the tent they were sharing with a book. Two privates stopped outside and began talking about the prisoners. One asked, "How'd your patrol get ahold of those two Germans, Greg?"**

 **Greg said, "We shot their plane down and then found them walking through the desert a few miles from the wreck. They're lucky to be alive. They both have injuries, but nothing too serious. Lt. Col. Stewart sent for Sergeant Moffitt to do some translating, then they were taken to the stockade."**

 **Tully sat up and set the book aside as he thought about what he heard. It suddenly dawned on him why he thought he recognized one of those German prisoners. He sat there for some time before leaving the tent.**

 **Tully walked to the stockade, which was little more than a shack with a wooden door and bars on the windows. There were two guards on duty at the door. Tully decided asking to talk to the prisoners wasn't a good idea and circled the stockade to get to the back of it. He went to the window and whispered, "Barrett?"**

 **Both prisoners stood up and looked at the American. Barrett's eyes went big with recognition. He went to the window and said quietly, "Tully?"**

 **He nodded and asked if they were all right. "Sind Sie beide ganz recht?"**

 **Barrett said they would be fine. "Ja, nichts Ernstes." He smiled slightly and asked about Tully speaking German. "Wann lernten Sie Deutsch?"**

 **Tully returned the smile and told him he'd been at it for a while. "Ich habe Deutsch seit ein paar Monaten jetzt gesprochen." He pointed at the second German and asked his name. "Wer ist Ihr Freund?"**

" **Sein Name ist Alexander."**

 **One of guards came around the corner and was surprised to find Tully standing there. "What in the heck are you doing here?"**

 **Tully took a couple of steps back and said, "Nothin' … I just wanted to see the prisoners."**

" **Well, you've seen them. Now get out of here and don't come back."**

 **Tully glanced at Barrett one last time before he walked away.**

 **##################**

 **Tully was preoccupied for the rest of the day and when he went to bed, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Barrett the day he helped Tully after a flash flood had swept him away. And then when the Germans arrived to pick up their downed pilot, Barrett had awakened him to give him time to run and hide. Later, after Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch had found him, Tully remembered saying, "** **I wish I could thank him." To which Troy said, "Yeah, maybe you will someday."**

 **Restlessly, Tully sat up on his cot and put his feet on the floor with a sigh. He listened to the soft snores of his friends and knew he was about to do something stupid. He pulled on socks and boots, then quietly left the tent.**

 **On his way to the motor pool Tully was stopped by a guard, who he quickly lied to and bribed into believing he'd never seen Tully at all. He got in the jeep and drove away.**

 **After an hour, Tully arrived at an Arab camp. The Rat Patrol had made friends with these people and hoped they would help him with his plan … they also spoke English. After explaining his dilemma, the Arab went to awaken their sheikh. Of course, Tully was invited into the sheikh's tent, where he told the elder Arab the story of Barrett and how he had a chance to return the favor.**

 **Sheikh Zayed was amused by Tully's plan. "Why not ask for help from your friends?"**

 **Tully said quietly, "I couldn't do that to them."**

" **If you are caught being involved with this, you will be punished, will you not?"**

" **That's why they can't know. It'll be bad enough if I get caught … I won't involve them."**

 **Sheikh Zayed gave Tully's plan some thought. When he made his decision, he said, "All right … I will allow four of my men to help you. They are the best and not likely to be caught."**

 **Tully nodded. "Thank you, Sheikh Zayed. Please remind them that they are not to kill the guards and to use my name."**

 **##################**

 **In the early hours of the morning four Arab horsemen arrived just outside of Lt. Col. Stewart's battalion. Dressed in dark, concealing robes, with their heads and faces covered, they easily snuck by the American guards. They followed the diagram Tully had drawn and they had memorized to the stockade. As told, there were two guards at the door.**

 **Silently, the Arabs knocked out first one guard, then the other. Pockets were gone through, key located, and the door opened. The sleepy eyed Germans inside sat up and looked at the Arabs questioningly. One of the Arabs whispered, "Tully."**

 **After a moment, Barrett understood, and pulling Alexander with him silently followed the Arabs out of their prison, out of the American camp, and to the waiting horses.**

 **##################**

 **Tully paced nervously as he checked his watch again. He knew they should be at this prearranged meeting place soon. Pushing himself up onto the hood of the jeep Tully listened to the dark desert. It was quiet except for the occasional breeze.**

 **It was thirty minutes later when he heard the soft nicker of a horse. Tully slid off the jeep to get the flashlight off the seat and crawl into the back. He stood there staring east, looking for movement and shadows in the darkness.**

 **Finally, there it was … four distinct shadows in the moonlight. Using the flashlight, Tully signaled that he was there and waiting.**

 **When the horses stopped, Barrett and Alexander slid off the horses they'd been riding. Tully looked up at the Arabs and said, "Thank you, my friends."**

 **The Arabs nodded, then turned their horses to go home.**

 **As they rode away, Barrett looked at Tully and asked what he thought he was doing. "Was denken Sie, dass Sie tun?"**

 **Tully answered that he was returning a favor. "Ich gebe eine Bevorzugung zurück. Lassen Sie uns gehen."**

 **##################**

 **Back at Lt. Col. Stewart's battalion the missing prisoners were discovered when the guards changed. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch were awakened when the alarm went up. Troy frowned when he saw Tully's cot was empty as they went outside.**

 **They quickly discovered what was going on and Hitch looked around as he questioned, "Where's Tully?"**

 **Troy growled, "I don't know … but I intend to find out. Hitch, check the motor pool for his jeep."**

 **Hitch turned as he said, "Right, sarge."**

 **Moffitt asked, "What are you thinking, Troy?"**

" **Tully was acting peculiar after those German prisoners got here. Then I got word that he was caught hanging around the stockade. Now the prisoners are gone and we don't know where Tully is."**

" **Why would he want to help two German's escape?"**

 **Troy sighed. "Remember when we got caught in that flash flood?"**

 **Moffitt nodded and said, "Indeed I do. We nearly lost Tully."**

" **He told me that the German pilot that had helped him could've turned him in when his friends showed up to get him, but he didn't. Tully said he'd like to thank him."**

" **And you think one of the prisoners was this pilot? What are the odds?" Troy shook his head and Moffitt said, "Do you really think Tully's involved?"**

 **Troy said, "I hope not. Let's go look things over and ask some questions."**

 **Hitch met the sergeants and said, "The jeep's gone, sarge. Do you think Tully broke the prisoners out for some reason?"**

" **It's starting to look that way."**

 **Hitch said with a growing frown, "But why…"**

 **Moffitt said, "What goes around, comes around. Tully may be helping that downed German pilot that helped him after that flash flood."**

" **Oh no."**

 **When Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch got to the stockade, the sun was just coming up on the horizon. The wounded guards had been taken to medical and the door was open. A Captain Bouchard had been put in charge of the investigation and as they approached, Troy said, "We heard what happened, captain. Can we do anything to help?"**

 **Bouchard said, "Thank you, sergeant, but we have everything under control here."**

 **As the captain walked away, giving orders to his men, Moffitt said quietly, "Why don't we take a look around?"**

 **They went out beyond where Bouchard's men were and located some boot tracks. Moffitt noticed that there were four to six people moving as a group. He followed them further out until he came across the tracks of the horses. Moffitt waved Troy and Hitch over and pointed to the tracks.**

 **Hitch said, "So Tully didn't do it."**

 **Moffitt said, "It would appear so."**

 **Troy questioned, "But why would Arabs go to so much trouble to take two German prisoners?"**

" **They wouldn't on their own. It's obvious they were tasked to do the job by someone else."**

 **Troy agreed, "Let's go get the jeep and follow those tracks."**

 **Just then Hitch suddenly pointed and said, "Hey, sarge, it's Tully!"**

 **They hurried to the motor pool and caught Tully as he was walking out. Troy growled, "Where in the heck have you been?"**

 **Tully stopped in his tracks when he heard Troy's voice. "I … umm … I … couldn't sleep … so I went for a drive. Was gone longer than I intended. Sorry."**

" **Just tell me you weren't the one that broke the prisoners out last night."**

 **Tully frowned. "No, sarge, I didn't break anyone out."**

 **Troy glared at him, but said, "Okay, let's shake it. There's no way to know how far the Arabs took them."**

" **Arabs took the prisoners?"**

 **Hitch gave a nod. "Looks like it. We're going to follow the horses' tracks we found."**

 **Troy said, "Moffitt and I will let the captain know what we found. We'll meet you two at the jeeps."**

 **##################**

 **The tracks were fading fast with even the slightest breeze. They stopped at the base of a sand dune and got out to look around. Eventually, Moffitt found a grouping of tracks where the horses had stopped.**

 **Then Hitch wondered off, staring down at the ground. He suddenly called out, "Hey, sarge! Over here!"**

 **Troy and Moffitt hurried over and looked down at the tracks a jeep had left. Troy looked around and said, "They could be anywhere by now."**

 **Tully's voice came from behind them as he said, "By now they should be at that German field hospital we saw a while back."**

 **Troy spun around and stalked over to the private, who was leaning on the jeep. "You told me you weren't involved!"**

 **Tully twirled the toothpick in his mouth and said, "No, sarge. You wanted to know if I was the one who broke them out of the stockade. I wasn't lyin' when I told you I didn't do it."**

 **Before Troy could go on a tirade, Moffitt said, "Just tell us what happened, Tully."**

 **He explained how he discovered that Barrett was one of the prisoners brought in. "I kept thinkin' about how he helped me when I was in trouble … and I just decided I needed to return the favor."**

" **Who were the Arabs who broke the prisoners out?"**

" **They were from Sheikh Zayed camp. After they got ahold of Barrett and Alexander they brought 'em here where I was waiting."**

 **Troy stopped pacing to ask, "And from here you took them to that German field hospital."**

 **Tully shrugged. "I stopped three or four miles away, gave 'em a full canteen, a compass, and told them to walk west until they got to the hospital."**

 **Hitch said, "Field hospitals move. Are you sure it's still there?"**

" **I checked before I picked them up."**

 **Troy lit a cigarette and took several puffs before he said, "I can't believe you did this, Tully. You've risked** _ **everything**_ **to get those two out of there."**

 **Tully looked like a beaten puppy. "I don't know if you can understand it … but I had opportunity to settle something I felt I owed. Are you gonna tell Lt. Col. Stewart?"**

" **I don't know, Tully, but I have time to think about it."**

 **##################**

 **When they returned to the battalion, Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully located Captain Bouchard. Troy asked, "Any luck with the investigation, sir?"**

 **Bouchard said, "No, sergeant. Do you have anything to report?"**

" **We followed those tracks we told you about, sir. It looks like the prisoners were transferred to another vehicle. I'm afraid they've got too much of a head start for us to go after them."**

" **It's a shame. We didn't get a chance to interrogate them." The captain sighed and said, "Well, I do thank you and your men for your help. I'll let Lt. Col. Stewart know what you discovered."**

 **Troy and Moffitt walked away with Hitch and Tully trailing. They went to their tent, where Troy backed Tully into a corner and poked a finger into the private's chest as he said in a low but deadly voice, "If you** _ **ever**_ **do anything remotely like this again I will escort you to the stockade myself! Do you understand?"**

 **Tully nodded. "Yeah, I understand, sarge. Don't worry, I've repaid the favor and I told Barrett that if we ever run into each other again, things will be a lot different."**

" **You're just lucky I didn't have to actually lie to Captain Bouchard."**

 **Moffitt added, "Let's hope Lt. Col. Stewart doesn't want to ask us any further questions."**

 **Hitch said, "Why didn't you tell us what was going on, Tully?"**

" **I couldn't take a chance like that, Hitch. If I got caught, the only one in trouble would be me."**

 **Moffitt smiled. "Next time, just let us know what you're up to before you do anything."**

 **Tully let out a snort and said, "Yeah, like you all would've let me do it if I told you about my plan."**

 **Troy smiled slightly and said, "I think that's the idea. Telling us gives us a chance to beat some sense into you before you go off half-cocked."**

 **Hitch said a bit cheekily, "Besides, we can't let you have all the fun by yourself."**

 **Before it could go any further, Troy grabbed Tully by the arm and propelled him out of the corner towards the door. "Let's go get something to eat." As he and the others followed Tully outside, Troy said, "And then we're going to have a little talk about you going off by yourself … at night … in a war zone … without telling anyone where you were going."**


End file.
